Villanelle
by Magi Silverwolf
Summary: Tony wasn't good with kids. In general, that just wasn't a thing he was. So imagine his surprise when one snuck into his lab to make a demand. (FPC fill; Poetry series)


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.  
 **Warnings:** This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. Please utilize understanding of personal sensitivities before and while reading.

 **Author's Note** : So, when I wrote _Invictus_ , I bounced a few ideas off my Joyful One, but ultimately decided to hold off actually writing them until I had more information to work with (i.e. had a chance to see _Black Panther_ ). Well, I've now seen it and therefore ran out of excuses to deny my best friend the Tony & Shuri interaction she wished for. So I hereby present how the agreement about vibranium mentioned in _Invictus_ was made.

 **Fem Power Challenge** :  
 **Fill Number** : 16  
 **Representation(s)** : Shuri; Child Genius  
 **Bonus Challenge(s)** : Ladylike (Initiative)  
 **Word Count** : 1563 (Story Only); 1596 (Story & Epigraph)

-= LP =-  
Villanelle  
-= LP =-  
 _Still fair to see and good to smell  
As in the quaintness of its prime,  
A dainty thing's the Villanelle.  
It serves its purpose passing well._  
– William Ernest Henley, "Villanelle"  
-= LP =-

Tony stared at the figure before him, uncertain if he was really seeing it. He rubbed a hand over his face. Thankfully, he had only been designing and his hands were clean. Unfortunately, the little girl was still standing in his workshop when he uncovered his eyes.

"You're not a hallucination, are you?"

"If I was, what would asking achieve?"

"That is a very valid point, Mini-Jen," Tony admitted. "Is there a reason you're here or should I just have JARVIS notify your bigger version that I'm having a stroke?"

"I have already taken the liberty of leaving a message with IRIS, since Dr. Rhodes is with a patient. Would you like me to notify the local precinct as well, Sir?"

"Who's that?" the girl demanded. She moved her glare from Tony himself to the ceiling. He was about to make a comment, because it annoyed the fuck out him when people assumed JARVIS lived in the ceiling like some kind of ghost, when she corrected herself to an input port—one of the more-obviously placed cameras. Rhodey had demanded two in every room or a cessation of complaints about people looking at the ceiling; J hadn't cared either way, because somehow his boy had ended up more tolerant of idiots than him. Tony still wasn't certain _how_. "Only cowards hide their face in battle!"

"Okay, so let's start there," Tony said, clapping his hands once. "One, JARVIS doesn't have a face to show, and two, there's no battle here. We're not fighting—unless you are actually a very short assassin, in which case, you _suck_ , baby bloom. You're supposed to kill your target _before_ announcing your presence in my very fortified brownstone. The fact that you're in it at all is really impressive, though, so we're going to talk about that…probably while waiting on whatever parent and-slash-or guardian you escaped before invading. Which brings me to three: who should J direct that call, pint-sized?"

"I am Shuri, daughter of T'Chaka, King of Wakanda," the girl declared. She threw her shoulders back as she stood as straight and tall as possible. She still only came up to the middle of his thigh. Tony had the idle thought that this must be how he looked any of the times he had made one of his Very Important Requests to Jarvis or Wilkes. It was really ridiculous, and he had no idea how either man had resisted laughing outright at him. He really hoped that JARVIS was recording this, even if it was just as proof that he hadn't kidnapped a foreign national to whoever was coming. "I have come to parley."

"Okay, I can work with that, but without drinks, Ambassador," Tony replied. "It's not civilized to negotiate without a drink. Not that we're going to have alcohol! You can't drink; you're, what, three?"

"I'm five," Shuri answered confidently. Tony looked her up and down in a very slow, deliberate way. Then he raised a single eyebrow. Her cheeks darkened, and he knew he had caught her. She corrected herself with a grumble. "Four— _and_ _a half_. That's practically five. It's called ' _rounding'_."

"Amazingly enough, I have heard of it, Miss Sassy Pants, but it's still bad business to start with a lie, even one as innocuous as that. Now, _drinks_." Tony strode across the workshop to the little kitchenette. He patted the girl's head a couple of times as he passed her. "Do you like coffee? I remember that Jenny said something about kids and coffee once. I can't remember exactly what she said, but she had been very confident about it."

"Dr. Rhodes said children were not supposed to have caffeine, Sir," JARVIS stated as Tony grabbed the empty pot. "It was the same conversation where she informed you that six pots a day was too much for an adult of your size and if you didn't increase your intake of other fluids, she would switch it all out for decaf without telling you. May I remind you that you finished your fifth pot earlier and suggest one of the smoothies that Dummy prepared instead? There's a few which are unlikely to include any allergens for your young guest."

"Seriously, who is that?" Shuri asked as she climbed onto the counter beside where Tony had placed a pair of tumblers in preparation for serving the aforementioned smoothies. Tony pulled two different kinds out of the fridge and held them up for her to pick. She pointed at one before continuing her line of questioning. "You say that he doesn't have a face, but AIs don't sound like that."

"Can you keep a secret, little ambassador?" Tony asked as he filled the glasses with the chosen smoothie. Replacing the jug and picking up his glass, he held it out for a toast. The glasses gave a soft chime as they bumped together before they both took a sip of their drinks. The girl nodded very solemnly. "J isn't an AI. He's _more_ , even if very few people recognize that. He is also a tattler, so speak fast because he's probably already gotten ahold of someone to come escort you back to wherever you're supposed to be instead of my lab."

"But it took for- _ev_ -er to get away from Okoye!"

"Yeah, I've been reliably told that ditching one's bodyguard is not a good thing, so not gonna get much sympathy from me, kid. So, you came to parley?"

"I did," she confirmed, kicking her feet as she took another drink of her smoothie. "I know that my grandfather gave your father some of our vibranium. I also know that it's possible now to create things like metal."

"It's really not that easy, but you're not wrong. Dear ol' Dad used all the vibranium making Cap's shield. I have research notes, _very unofficially_ so don't go spreading that around either, but it's not like I can just replace it."

"Ugh, _grown-ups_ ," Shuri complained, "you're all so boring! I don't want you to replace what Babu gave as a gift. I want your promise to never create or use vibranium for anything. Vibranium can be very bad if it's used wrong, Mr. Stark."

"One, I resent being called a grown-up, like I'm _old_ ," Tony stated. He rolled the tumbler between his palms as he talked. "Two, Mr. Stark is my father, for the most part. If you had really wanted to butter me up, using the right honorific would be great. I hold multiple doctorates, Ambassador, so the correct title would have been _doctor_. Not that it matters because I am officially inviting you to use my given name or any vaguely appropriate nickname you want; I really think we're there. So, you broke into my home to get me to _promise_ not to create or use vibranium? And just that?"

"Yup," Shuri agreed. She grinned at him. "It's very important, because it would be really, _really_ bad if you made one of your weapons with vibranium. If it gets enough energy, it explodes. _A lot_."

"Well, you make a compelling case," Tony said. Transferring his glass into one hand, he pointed the rim at her. "Wakanda has clearly sent their best negotiator. Hey, J? Do we have time to get a contract together before the princess here is retrieved?"

"I'm afraid we do not, Sir. The escort dispatched from the Wakandan Embassy just arrived. Shall I let them in or will you and Princess Shuri meet them upstairs?"

"Tony?" Shuri interrupted, with a touch to his arm. He looked down at her, startled. Her eyes were wide and trusting when he accidently met them. Despite the uncomfortableness of the eye contact, he found he couldn't look away. "I don't need a contract. Your promise is enough. I trust you, even if you _are_ old."

"Sir? I suggest letting the Wakandans into the house in order to delay hostile action. They are quite adamant about the matter."

"What?" Tony questioned as he jerked his gaze away from the hold of the little girl's. He took a breath that was shakier than he was willing to admit as he processed what JARVIS had said. "Yeah, go ahead and let 'em in; they're probably just antsy about the kid being missing. The Ambassador and I will be up to meet them in a moment." He took another breath, this one calmer than the other one. "And J? Can you delete all of our files vibranium? And set up a reminder for me to take of the physical copies later?"

"As you wish, Sir," JARVIS agreed, a pleased note in his digital voice. "May I also take care of a few other anomalous locations of such data? In the spirit of this accord?"

"Ha! Don't think I'm not onto you, J. But yeah, have at. Whatever you want, baby boy. Just be sure to keep track of any potential physical copies and all that jazz. We'll forward it all to the Wakandans, provided I survive the next ten minutes."

"Oh, _please_ ," Shuri scoffed as she jumped off the counter. "Okoye would surely draw out your death longer than _that_. She's really good at what she does."

"That's really _not_ comforting, kiddo."

Shuri only giggled as she raced out of the lab. Tony sighed before he followed.

Hopefully, dying wasn't actually on the immediate agenda.

Rhodey would never forgive him.

-= LP =-  
An Ending  
-= LP =-


End file.
